Judge Forces Elon Musk to Testify Over USAID Gutting as Lawsuit Accuses Him of Acting Without Authority

A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk and current and former U.S. Department of State officials to sit for depositions over their roles in the 2025 dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development.

The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, stems from a lawsuit filed by anonymous USAID employees who allege the agency was stripped of its operations through actions that lacked proper authority and oversight. The judge wrote that there was “no alternative” to in-person depositions after attempts to obtain answers from lower-ranking officials failed.

Although Musk held no elected or formally confirmed federal role, plaintiffs argue his leadership at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency played a central part in rapidly downsizing USAID, an agency that previously managed roughly $43 billion in appropriations and operated in more than 130 countries.

In March 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the cancellation of 83 percent of USAID programs, saying they did not serve “the core national interests of the United States.” The cuts led to the closure of clinics, food programs, and interruptions in the delivery of medicines, malaria bed nets, nutritional supplements, and water purification supplies in vulnerable regions.

A report published in The Lancet last year estimated that the loss of USAID-backed services could contribute to more than 14 million deaths over five years, including millions of children under age five. The analysis calculated that USAID programs helped prevent an estimated 92 million deaths between 2001 and 2021 from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal illness.

Public health experts said the pace of the funding cuts worsened the humanitarian impact. Amira Albert Roess, a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, said some USAID-supported clinics were the primary source of care in their regions and could have been phased out more gradually.

President Donald Trump previously described USAID as being run by “radical lunatics,” while Musk wrote on X that the agency was a “criminal organization” that needed to be shut down. Months later, after a public falling out with Trump, Musk described his work leading the government efficiency effort as only “somewhat successful.”

USAID is a criminal organization.

Time for it to die. https://t.co/sWYy6fyt1k

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025

Beyond USAID, the department Musk helped lead also cut consumer protection functions, terminated thousands of federal employees, and worked to centralize government data systems. Watchdog groups have warned that some of those actions may have violated privacy safeguards under federal law.

The depositions are expected to shed new light on how the decisions were made and whether officials acted within the bounds of their legal authority when reshaping one of the government’s largest foreign aid agencies.

Joseph Johnson

They say not everyone has the gift of gab to be able to talk about politics in the correct light - but Joseph is the perfect mix between a healthy critic, and a realist cynic. His unique personality works wonders at political discussions which are bound to cause a stir. He is an intellectual with many years of experience in the field, and his work is a reflection of his dedication to making political scenarios common knowledge among the citizens of the nation.